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"The hardest part of this was how far from any actual evidence there actually was, and how quickly and how painfully this traveled…We find it incredibly unfortunate that media outlets were so quick to jump without checking with authorities, but we hope they use the same energy and intensity they showed in the past 24 hours to really help us find Sunil."

— We spoke with Sangeeta Tripathi, whose innocent brother Sunil was made into a Boston Marathon bombing suspect by social media and news organizations.

"Sometimes, I find myself thinking, ‘My God, what have we done?’"

— A White House staffer on the epic trolling on the White House’s petitions website (think: Death Star).

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How NASA used social media to tell America that the world is not coming to an end in 2012.

"After four years of demonizing [Barack Obama] as an Alinskyite radical, conservatives have fallen in love with community organizing."

— “Republicans Get Religion on Campaign Data”

"I am Barack Obama, President of the United States -- AMA" →

YOU GUYS. IS THIS FREALZ?

UPDATED: Obama campaign insider confirms to a MoJo reporter that this is, indeed, frealz. Go ask questions, folks!

Where did all these fake followers of Mitt Romney’s Twitter account come from?

US News isn’t totally sure, but they found the guy whose picture got boosted for ‘em.

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hollybailey:

npr:

poptech:

The politics of WiFi names

WiFi names matter! My family’s is “Meow.”
—Daisy

Wow.

This is social media journalism at its best. Step two: a deeper analysis of all those pro-Kirchner and Peronista SSIDs in Argentina. Government surveillance much?

"A new video attacking Obama for backing the now-bankrupt solar firm Solyndra received just two notes, one of which read simply, “I just feel bad because Mitt Romney doesn’t get any notes on his posts."

— Take 2: Why the Mitt Romney campaign is so bad at Tumblr.

"The back-and-forth between the campaign’s Tumblr and its followers, and the enthusiasm it engenders, is typified by the story of April Watkins. In December, the University of Kentucky grad, who blogs under the nickname Apsies, launched an online campaign to get Obama to follow her on Tumblr. Watkins posted a .gif of Leslie Knope, Amy Poehler’s character in Parks and Recreation, frowning, with the caption “Barack Obama still hasn’t followed me.” It quickly picked up steam, and eventually the Obama Tumblr team caught wind. They followed her, reblogged the post with a Parks and Recreation joke—”You had us at Leslie Knope”—and let the good vibes roll. The original post received 8,270 notes; in March, the Obama campaign staff cited it in a slideshow on their social-media strategy."

— Take 1: Why the Obama campaign is so good at Tumblr.

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Ok, we’re not saying Michele Bachmann has a Foursquare addiction. Technically, it’s Foursquare that’s saying Michele Bachmann has a Foursquare addiction.

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(via The Economist)

 Oh hey, remember when we interviewed the creators of We Are the 99 Percent?

Mother Jones is looking for a (paid) social media intern. Is it you? →

Do you put the “social” in social media? The “ha” in hashtag? Mother Jones is on the hunt for a bona fide social-media maven—a 140-character whiz, a fan/follower magnet, someone who’s comfortably obsessed with news and politics. Mother Jones is the ultimate blend of long-form, in-depth journalism and hyperactive, 24/7 current affairs. MoJo’s social-media intern serves as the direct line of communication between readers and our award-winning site (according to Slate a “news cycle scoop machine”) and will help us discover and integrate new tools and platforms that will take our site to the next level of fancy. It’s a full-time six-month gig, hard work, and a heck of a lot of fun. Promise….

Hey, does anybody know why pro-Assad Syrian forces have suddenly hijacked Columbia University's Facebook wall? →

kateoplis:

The UK men who incited the London riots on Facebook were each sentenced to four years in jail, “despite both being of previous good character.” Does the punishment fit the crime?

Wow. Every time we kvetch about how the First Amendment protects ass clowns, we could probably remind ourselves that this happens elsewhere.

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Yep, this sums up our current obsession with digital documentation. Via @agolis